All posts by Jaaber

Thoughts and prayers– Marc Goldsuffered a mild heart attack while on vacation in South Africa. He’s doing fine, and managed a personal phone call to Peter Weinsteinto make sure his criminal division was in order. He should be leaving for the States shortly, after doctors are certain the long flight won’t be a bother. Send a prayer to the Heyer/Gold family, and to all those defendants awaiting sentencing who may get stuck with a new judge while Marc is out recuperating …

Congrats! – the Public Defender and the SAO are losing a homicide lawyer each. APD Gabe Ermine is out the door, Broward’s newest criminal PA. Gabe says it was a difficult choice, but the right one for his ever-expanding family. Gregg Rossmanis leaving the SAO for similar reasons. He’s partnering with David Bauman, who recently lost existing partner Dan Kannerto the county court bench. But unlike Dan and Gabe, Gregg’s plans don’t include taking criminal cases. Well done!

Bob Norman, Part II– speaking of Gregg Rossman, Bob Norman interviewed him last week in conjunction with the Coral Springs homicide case where detectives believe they may have the wrong guy in custody. Click here to see the rest of the story, which aired Tuesday. We’ve got a lot more coming on this one, together with a trip down exoneration lane, forever named in Satz’s honor. Developing …

ECO madness– Broward isn’t the only place where the judicial canons are being tested by ECO sponsored advertising. St. Lucie judge Phil Yacucci, facing a challenge from Steve Smith, won a temporary injunction shutting down an ECO sponsored website, which was digging a little too deep for incumbent comfort. George Shahoodissued the order, and now it’s up to the Fourth DCA to see if it sticks. TC Palm has the story here. In the meantime, back in Broward, everyone is talking about the anti-Jahra McLawrence ads, including some reporters we know. Do they run afoul of the Canons, and generally speaking, can a candidate be held responsible? Or are ECO’s the new face of judicial elections? Stay tuned …

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Brian Silber and MichaelSmith, after Lynn Feig Rosenthal’splea in July. Smith is the Palm Beach ASA who candidly answered JAABLOG’s question concerning the Xanax found on the judge after her arrest, and who may have helped to unintentionally turn the tide of the election …

Gallery of Retired Judges hanging in the Jury Room. Don’t strain your eyes looking for Gardiner, because she’s not there. Apparently disbarment is the final straw, even for the notorious judicial apologists of the 17th Circuit …

“Get away from me, Bill!” Here’s Peggy Gehl, and an overprotective court deputy, caught on camera after the mandatory “Trust Us” judges meeting back in June. Gehl is camera-shy, despite being a public figure. For an excruciating example, check out this transcript from last May, when she decided to boot us from Mel Grossman’shearing room, where she was overseeing a very public trial. We went back the next day, of course, with the resulting brouhaha captured in this transcript …

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Voters Response, a registered ECO, has produced an attack mailer against Jahra McLawrence. Information as to the source of the ECO’s financing is not yet available. Alain Jean, Lynn Feig Rosenthal’sCampaign Manager, told us this morning neither the campaign nor the judge knew anything about the ECO or the mailer until we called, and that his candidate will not go negative. We’ve sent it over to Buddy Nevinsat BrowardBeat.comfor publication, since Broward politics is his area of expertise. Make sure to check Buddy’s site later today if you’re interested …

In other news, a court deputy has indeed been busted forallegedly killing an alligator in Broward County outside hunting season. He’s on administrative duty, and not in a BSO uniform while the whole thing gets sorted out. Mainstream media is aware of it, so more may be forthcoming. The court deputy works with Dale Ross, famous for his barbecuing skills, evidenced by the many awards in his office. No word yet as to whether or not fresh, in-season alligator has ever been on the menu, or whether the former chief judge has a favorite gator recipe he may be willing to share …

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Lynn Feig Rosenthal’scampaign continues to stack blunder upon blunder. It’s getting almost too painful to watch. The advantages of gender, ethnicity, incumbency, and financial dominance are being squandered with each passing day.

Today’s mishap started with a radio appearance on 850 WFTL, with Rich Stevens. The embattled judge decided to break her personal silence regarding the DUI arrest live on the AM dial. It was Ambien this and Ambien that, plus other excuses and veiled swipes at law enforcement, with the ever protective Stevens in charge of the cheer leading section. After the judge left, calls were accepted, and we made it on the air, only to be disconnected mid-sentence when the host realized some of his many nitwitisms were being inconveniently eviscerated.

It’s too bad the show isn’t available online. Feig Rosenthal had a lot to say about the arrest. In fact, it may have gone a long way to help her reelection bid, if someone hadn’t invited television news to film the broadcast, armed with their trusty BSO BAT facility videos. After Feig Rosenthal left the studio, she agreed to answer questions for the cameras, and some of her answers directly contradicted what’s seen on the aforementioned BAT video. Whatever headway she had gained with Stevens’ lopsided presentation quickly disappeared down the rabbit hole.

Check it out for yourself. The links are below. All the local affiliates except for Fox mention the Xanax and Feig Rosenthal’s contradictory statements regarding the refusals. In the meantime, we’ll try to get a full transcript of the radio show for any interested parties …

Coming Soon – Peter Weinstein thinks Broward judges are underpaid; Will Jeff Maranoand Scott Israelsupport Feig Rosenthal after her criticisms of law enforcement and the jail?; How much will the Feig Rosenthal family have to spend to win?

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Sorry for the slow pace of blogging. In addition to the summer doldrums, the updated format has presented a new challenge, namely the instantaneous delivery of courthouse news stories to the mainstream media via email. The old blog could be subscribed to, and the new one will have that feature soon too. But for the time being, it’s been easier to simply try and place a breaking story in the paper or on TV by directly alerting a reporter or two, instead of putting it on the blog and hoping it’s found quickly.

Such is the case with the video of Lynn Feig-Rosenthalat BSO’s Breath Alcohol Testing facility, shot hours after the judge’s morning reckless drive to work. After we acquired it yesterday, it was handed over to Bob Norman, who has a full story running tonight at 6:00 PM on Channel 10. A shorter version from the noon broadcast is found here.

Check it out. Feig Rosenthal hardly seems as cooperative as previously portrayed by her attorney Brian Silber, who issuedthis press release following his client’s plea last week. In fact, when we spoke to Brian yesterday, he reiterated that BSO would only accept a bundled blood and urine sample, that it was “all or nothing“, and that Feig Rosenthal had agreed to do a urine test. But that’s not what appears to be caught on the BAT video.

As to why the judge didn’t want to give a blood sample, Silber called his client, and called us back moments later. He reported that Feig Rosenthal had said the jail “appeared to be unsanitary“, and she was uncomfortable with them sticking a needle in her arm in that environment. But from the discussion on the BAT video, it seems the blood draw was to be performed by paramedics who had responded to the scene.

We’ll post the whole video to YouTube, once we can figure out how to edit out some of the personal information provided at the beginning. Feig Rosenthal appears argumentative, and as stated before, hardly cooperative, but in command of her thoughts and actions. At one point she asks for an attorney, and also asks to speak to the deputy off camera. The Xanax found in her possession is not mentioned on tape.

Mainstream media is aware of the video now, so it shouldn’t be hard to find while we figure out the basics of YouTube …

“I couldn’t do a urine test. I’ve been asking for water,” said Rosenthal.

“OK, we could get you some water that way I could get you some water and when you have to go you could go ahead and do it that way,” said Wiley. “The blood test is no problem. We can bring the ambulance.”

“They were already here, so no,” said Rosenthal. “I’ll do a Breathalyzer test, no problem.”

Coming Soon – Cynthia Imperato, defendant, has court Monday …

*UPDATE* – Brian Silberhad this to say shortly after the preceding article published:

“The video did not record their entire conversation about sobriety testing. In fact, there was an extensive discussion held off camera, which is the substance of this issue. Judge Rosenthal references this discussion on the video, wherein she said based on her previous discussion with the deputy, she accordingly refuses. I would also add that this video was taken many hours after the arrest and that the alcohol influence report describes her as “very cooperative and polite”, and the State Attorney substantiated her refusal claims … “

(emphasis added)

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Randy Tundidor’s Spencer Hearing is now mired in controversy, at least from a legal ethics standpoint. Attorney Joe Pappacodatestified this morning that fellow defense attorney Jim Lewis advised the Tundidors to get rid of a firearm that could be used against them if discovered by police.

Quite a bombshell, and if true, big trouble for Lewis, and possibly for Pappacoda, if he failed to report it. If it’s a false allegation, Pappacoda will have to answer for not being truthful on the stand.

When reached a few minutes ago, Lewis wasted no time in expressing his anger at Pappacoda. Here’s what he said:

“I don’t know where Joe got this from, but I never told or would tell a client to hide or destroy evidence.”

Mainstream media is all over this one, so stay tuned as Broward’s criminal justice system is once again thrust into the spotlight in the worst possible terms …

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Channel 10’s John Turchinbroke out the Lynn Feig Rosenthaldriving video today. It was obtained from the Palm Beach SAO this morning. We’ve got a copy too, and will upload to YouTube in case the Channel 10 link goes down in the future.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the settling of the Feig Rosenthal matter. The full case file should be available Monday from BSO. Until then, it’s anyone’s guess as to how a talented and thorough Traffic Homicide Investigator could botch a straight forward Implied Consent warning, and relegate a bottle of Xanax, a controlled, potentially intoxicating drug, to an event report that could not become public record by law until after a case filing decision was made …